


DNA

by heartheldhostage



Category: Eureka
Genre: Confessions, DNA mutation, M/M, Quarantine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2017-08-05
Packaged: 2018-12-11 14:59:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,908
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11716767
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartheldhostage/pseuds/heartheldhostage
Summary: Jack and Nathan get caught in an off-site lab chemical explosion that leaves them quarantined together in the bunker and in danger of losing their humanity. The race is on to discover a way to keep Jack and Nathan human.





	DNA

DNA

 

“I used to have a real job,” Carter grumbled as he and Stark entered the off-site lab run by Dr. Tulloch.

Stark ignored him because the two men had been arguing since before they left Global Dynamics about the facility's scientists' disregard for safety protocols and Stark not reigning them in. He just wanted to prove to Carter that the couple of minor explosions reported at Tulloch's lab were nothing to worry about so he could get back to work.

“Sheriff Carter, Dr. Stark, what do you want?” the cocky young scientist said as he continued to measure ingredients.

Stark picked up a bottle of liquid Tulloch was working with. Tulloch snatched the bottle from his hands. “Do you mind?”

“Yes, actually, I do. Dr. Tulloch, what exactly are you doing? Your approved work has nothing to do with DNA,” Stark said.

“My work is none of your concern,” Tulloch snapped.

“Considering he's the head of GD and your boss, I'd say it is his business,” Carter said. “Now, either you explain or I arrest you.”

Stark and Carter stared in amazement as Tulloch morphed into a hyena. Carter shoved Stark out of the way as the hyena jumped at him. The sheriff just had time to pull his gun and fire before the hyena landed on him. The shot threw the hyena back onto a table against the wall. Bottles broke, chemicals spilled, and the lab exploded.

 

“Stark,” Carter smacked the scientist's face, “Stark, wake up. Wake up, Stark.”

“Carter?” Stark said groggily. “What happened?”

“Tulloch turned into some kind of animal, and then the lab exploded. Still think he was following safety protocol?”

“Carter, we can't let rescue workers help us without following hazmat protocol,” Stark said between coughs.

“The chemicals?”

“Yes.”

Jack grabbed his radio from his belt and said, “Jo, come in.”

“What's up, Carter?” the welcome sound of Lupo's voice came over the radio.

“There's been an explosion at Dr. Tulloch's lab. Tulloch is dead; Stark and I are trapped. Jo, dozens of unknown chemicals have been spilled. I don't know if we have an outside air vent or not. We need to get out of here fast, but follow safety procedures.”

“Copy that. Hang tight, Carter. We'll have you out of there soon.” Jo said.

“Carter,” Stark said, “we need to try to find out what chemicals and animal DNA Tulloch was working with.”

“What we need to do is stay still so the rest of this lab doesn't come down on our heads,” Carter replied.

“I guess I owe you an apology. Looks like Tulloch actually was playing fast and loose with safety,” Stark said.

“Yeah, well, remind me to rub it in later,” Jack smirked.

Stark chuckled. “I doubt I'll have to remind you at all, but I'll definitely deserve it this time.”

“Just this time?” Carter smiled.

Stark smiled until he started coughing again.

“What kind of chemical exposure are we looking at?”

“If Tulloch had been doing what he was supposed to, we would have nothing to worry about. Since I have no idea what he was working on, I have no idea what we could be facing.”

“Well, that's just great.”

“Jack,” Nathan said, “we could be in serious trouble here. The one bottle I did get a look at was the DNA of a wolf.”

“Okay, how is wolf DNA enough for you to say we need hazmat protocol?”

“To have DNA in liquid form, the liquid has to contain several poisonous ingredients. I'm guessing there was more than just wolf DNA in here given that Tulloch became a hyena in front of our eyes. The poisonous ingredients are worrying enough, but I have no idea how Tulloch was able to transform. If it's something that can be inhaled, we could become something inhuman.”

“How long do you think we have?”

“That depends on how many jars of chemicals broke in the explosion, how many different chemicals he was using, and how much air there is circulating through the rubble...”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it. I used to have a real job.”

“You still do, Carter. Tell the truth, you've saved more lives here than in the rest of your career in law enforcement,” Stark said as he leaned carefully back against the rubble.

“That's because you brainiacs are more dangerous than all the criminals I've ever chased combined.”

“Carter, scientific research can be dangerous no matter what safety protocols are followed. We can't foresee every danger in every experiment.”

“It just seems like some of your scientists don't bother trying to foresee any danger. They just do whatever they think will help them succeed.”

Nathan nodded, “I'm beginning to think you may be right about that, I'm sorry to say. How long do you think it will take Lupo and the rescue team to get here?”

“They'd be here already if Jo had her way about it.”

“If the building came down like I think it did, they shouldn't have much trouble getting through the rubble,” Nathan said.

“I'm surprised these fumes haven't gotten to us more by now.”

“We've got an air vent somewhere or they would have. I just hope there's no wind blowing outside so no one else gets exposed to this.”

“We're headed straight for Silkwood showers and quarantine, aren't we?”Jack groaned.

Nathan chuckled, “I always wondered how long it would take you to get around to calling decon showers that. Yes, until Henry can determine we're okay and that contact with us is safe, we're looking at a vacation.”

“A vacation?”

“Sounds better than confinement.”

Jack huffed in agreement and was silent for a while. He finally spoke in a somber voice, “Nathan, is this it?”

“I don't know, Jack. I just don't know.”

“I, uh, don't think I ever told you that I'm sorry about you and Allison.”

“No, you didn't because you're not.”

“Yes, I am. I saw how much you love Allison the night we fought through Global to save her and Kevin, and I know she loves you. I don't know what happened the day of the timeloop that caused you to split up, but I am sorry,” Jack said.

Nathan shifted so Jack could see his face better. “You were seriously injured during the timeloop. When I stayed in the infirmary to make sure you would be okay, she convinced herself that I was only going to marry her again to keep her away from you.”

“What does that even mean?”

“Allison has always known that not all of my lovers have been women. Oh, don't look so surprised, Jack. I told you a long time ago that I've swung a lot of things that would surprise you.”

Jack took a second to let that sink in before he said, “Allison thought you were interested in me? In what universe would that happen?”

“Most, if not all of them, actually,” Nathan smiled.

“Exactly. Wait, what?” Carter gasped.

“I was interested in you the moment we met, Jack. I saw how you looked at Allison and knew I didn't have a chance. It was either flirt with you or fight with you. Flirting would have done no good so I started finding reasons to fight with you.”

“I can't believe what I'm hearing,” Jack said.

“It's true. I tried to show Allison that I was committed to her and Kevin, but she wouldn't believe me. She said she couldn't watch me pine over you and she certainly couldn't deal with seeing us together. That's why she took the position at Area 51.”

“She left because of the thought of you and me together?”

“Yes. She believes that you are more attracted to me than to her because you didn't ask her out as soon as everyone knew she and I were over. I tried to tell her that you were just giving her time and space to get over our breakup. She didn't want to hear it.”

“Why are you telling me this now? Are you that afraid of what's going to happen to us?”

Nathan gave a Jack a sad smile, “Because it's well past time that I apologize to you for ruining what you and Allison could have had.”

“If she didn't care enough to stick around then we wouldn't have had much anyway. In fact, it seems like you saved me the hassle of learning that the hard way.”

“Allison is a wonderful friend, but not so wonderful as more.”

“If you feel that way then why did you work so hard to win her back?”

Nathan chuckled, “Partly, to give Kevin a father. Partly, because I will always care about her. Mostly, to keep her away from you.”

“To keep her away from me? I'll have you know I'm not that bad a guy. I would never have mistreated her or Kevin.”

Nathan just stared at Jack.

“Wait, are you saying what I think you're saying? Are you telling me Allison was right?”

“I'm sorry to spring it on you this way, Jack, but I have no idea how long we may be quarantined together. You would find out eventually. I thought it best to tell you now.”

“First, I have no idea what to do with this information. Second, you telling me this tells me we're in serious trouble. What the hell are we going to do, Stark?”

“First, you process the information I just gave you to keep yourself from going crazy. I don't expect anything from you. I just want us on a level playing field while we're stuck in close quarters together.

“Second, all we can do is wait and see what we've been exposed to and what happens after that. I'm sorry, Jack.”

Small chunks of rubble started falling around them. Both men moved carefully and quickly to the other side of the area where they were trapped. More and more rubble fell until they heard Lupo from the other side, her voice tinny from the inside of a hazmat suit, “Carter, Stark, can you hear me?”

“Yeah, we hear you, Jo. Someone ought to promote you.”

“Oh, I agree to with that, but not today,” Lupo said. “We'll have you out of there in about twenty minutes. Do you need anything in the meantime?”

“Deputy Lupo,” Stark said, “we could use some water, and, if you can get me the supplies, I can get blood samples from us for Henry to get started on.”

“And, Jo,” Carter added, “if you could send in some aspirin, that would be good.”

“You got it. Give us five minutes,” Lupo said.

“Aspirin?” Nathan asked after Lupo left to get what they had requested.

“Just a headache.”

“Chemical fumes?”

“Maybe. Definitely from getting hit in the head by flying debris, though,” Jack said.

Stark immediately began feeling Carter's head for injury. “Why didn't you say anything?”

“Focusing on it would only make it worse. Besides, what could you do about it here?”

“Stubborn jackass. Do you have a flashlight?”

“Yeah.”

“Give it to me.”

Carter complied, and Stark shined the light into the sheriff's eyes as rubble continued to fall to the floor across the area from them.

“No concussion, but a couple of bumps and bruises.” Stark said. Relief was evident in his voice. “Good thing you're so hard-headed.”

“I'll remind you of that the next time we're arguing over your brainiacs. And I could have told you I don't have a concussion. I've had enough of them to know what they feel like.”

“We're going to have to fit you with a tungsten helmet before you quite literally get the sense knocked out of you.”

Jack smirked, “That might not be a bad idea. An IQ of 111 is low enough to deal with this town.”

“I'm serious, Jack. Too many head injuries could leave you not knowing your own name. Or kill you.”

“I didn't know you cared, scientist,” Jack teased.

“You know now, sheriff,” Nathan answered sincerely.

Before Carter could answer, Lupo called from the other side of the rubble, “Okay, boys, here are the supplies you asked for along with a protective blanket. Henry's standing by for the blood samples.”

Stark moved to get the supplies. He handed Carter the blanket and water before grabbing what he needed. He then took Carter's blood and his own quickly and efficiently. In less than two minutes, Stark sent the blood samples back through the rubble to Lupo.

“Hang in there, guys. It won't be long now,” Lupo assured them.

“Here, Jack,” Stark said as he handed him some aspirin. Stark took the blanket from Carter and spread it over them both, head to toe, as rubble began to fall faster. Carter swallowed the aspirin and held the blanket as Stark drank some water.

“Stark, there's something I should tell you,” Jack said.

“It can wait, Jack. I have the feeling we're going to be spending plenty of time together for a while.”

“Come on out, you two,” Lupo said from the hole in the rubble.

“Oh, thank God,” Jack said.

The men crawled out of the debris. Two decon showers were set up side by side. After the sheriff and scientist were done and dressed, they climbed into the back of a transport truck for the ride to GD.

They were quickly settled into a quarantine room in the infirmary. Their vitals were taken, they were connected to EEG and EKG machines, DNA swabs were taken, and MRI's were done.

Henry, dressed in full protective gear just like everyone the men had come into contact with since their rescue, entered and sat on a stool between their beds.

“So far, everything looks good,” Henry began. “You both have slightly elevated blood pressure, but that's not unexpected given what you've been through in the past few hours.

“We've got three teams digging through what's left of Tulloch's lab to find out what he had in there. That's going to take a while,” Henry said.

“So we're quarantined until you figure out what the hell Tulloch was doing and how it's going to affect us,” Jack said.

“Yes,” Henry nodded, “but there is good news. Standard protocol is to put you in quarantine cells in Section 8 for the duration, but I was able to convince Eva that it would be easier, and possibly safer, to quarantine you in the bunker. SARAH can help monitor you and there won't be any chance of accidental exposure for anyone working on your situation. And, hopefully, you will both be more comfortable there.”

“Well, that's certainly better than I expected,” Stark said. 

“So when can we get out of here?” Carter asked.

“In about an hour and a half,” Henry said. “Fargo is programming SARAH to run the proper scans and send the information directly to me. Once he's done we can move you there.

“Do you need anything while you wait?”

“Neither of us has eaten for hours,” Carter said. “Any chance of a bacon cheeseburger, fries, and a beer?”

“No, not yet, but I can make sure you get some soup and tea,” Henry said.

“Figures,” Jack grumbled.

“That's just temporary, Jack, until Henry knows what we've been exposed to.”

“I'll bring you one of Vincent's burgers as soon as I can, Jack. I promise,” Henry said. “The special for you, Nathan?”

“As long as it's not blood pudding,” Nathan smiled.

“Noted,” Henry grinned as Jack shuddered at the memory of the week nearly everyone in Eureka looked like vampires, “I'll be back to help you get ready when it's time to go.”

 

“Did you have to remind me of the blood pudding?” Carter asked.

“You'd rather see me with a blood red mouth for a week? I heard Vincent is planning to make it again soon,” Stark said.

“Yeah, so did I. I was hoping it was a joke.”

“It may be, but I'm not taking any chances. That's the only thing Vincent has ever made that I hated.”

Jack laughed, “You know I'm going to laugh myself sick if the special is a bacon cheeseburger.”

“I'd settle for that, though I prefer Italian,” Nathan smiled.

 

It was Carter and Stark wearing the hazmat suits when they were moved to the bunker. The driver and escort still kept their distance. Jack didn't blame them.

The bunker entryway had been turned into an airlock but Carter and Stark didn't remove their suits until they were inside. SARAH immediately ran a scan on them.

“What are the results, SARAH?” Stark asked.

“The results are normal, Dr. Stark,” the AI answered.

“SARAH, beer me,” Carter said.

“Medical override engaged. I'm sorry, sheriff. Soup, water, or herbal tea until Dr. Deacon says otherwise,” SARAH said. “Would you like one of those?”

“Crap. I guess I'll have some water,” the sheriff grumbled.

“And you, Dr. Stark?” SARAH asked.

“I'll have some herbal tea, please, SARAH,” the scientist said.

“Pouring water and tea now,” SARAH said.

Carter brought his glass of water and Stark's tea to the living room and the men sat on the sofa. The silence wasn't exactly awkward, yet it wasn't entirely comfortable.

“Jack, I'm not exactly an invited guest. You don't have to entertain me. You should do whatever you would be doing if I weren't here.”

“Well, SARAH won't let me have a beer, and I've seen all the games she's recorded. So I guess I would probably take a nap or head into town.”

“Then you should probably go get some beauty sleep since a trip to town isn't an option,” Nathan teased.

“Don't make me have SARAH zap you this soon, scientist,” Jack teased back.

“Seriously, Jack, don't worry about me. I can ask Henry to bring me something to work on when he comes back. I doubt I'll die from watching a sporting event either way.”

Carter nodded and had SARAH play the most recent college playoff game she'd recorded. He was somewhat surprised to see Stark take an interest. “You even watch football, scientist.”

“Not really. I went to a couple of games in college when I was interested in a player at a nearby school.”

“I'm betting you weren't paying much attention to the actual game,” Jack smiled.

“Not much, no, and I lost what little interest I had developed when the player I was interested in got engaged to one of the cheerleaders.”

“Ouch. No wonder you lost interest in the game.”

“I didn't so much lose interest because of him; I just never had any motivation to maintain any interest,” Stark said. “I had forgotten how much strategy and planning are involved.”

“Not to mention the athleticism,” Carter said.

“Yeah, these guys are a bit young for me to admire their...athleticism,” Nathan smirked.

Jack smirked, “SARAH has a couple of NFL games recorded. We could watch one of those next.”

Five minutes into the fourth quarter, Henry showed up with food from Café Diem, Stark's briefcase, and another briefcase. He joined them at the table while Jack and Nathan ate. After a coffee for Henry, beer for Jack, and a Scotch for Nathan, the real discussion began.

“I guess you've figured out that you're clear to eat and drink what you like now,” Henry grinned.

Jack and Nathan both made obscene sounds of pleasure over their drinks.

“The bad news is,” Henry said, “that we still have no idea what might happen, or when, so you're stuck here for the foreseeable future. Thorne has named Lupo acting sheriff and Fargo as acting director of research.”

Jack took a large gulp of beer before he said, “So all we can do is wait and see.”

“Eva has given me carte blanche do whatever it takes to figure this out. A secure lab is being erected just down the road tomorrow. I'll be trying to replicate Tulloch's work to figure out what he was doing.

“Taggart and Dr. Taylor will be working with me exclusively, and Fargo, Zane, and a few others will work with us as their time and projects allow.

“And, Nathan,” Henry continued, “we can't risk exposing you further, but I can send you all the data we collect so you can collaborate with us.”

“I wouldn't have it any other way,” Stark said.

“Is there anything I can do? Aside from being a lab rat?” Jack asked.

“There are aspects of the data where your investigative mind may spot something that we miss,” Henry said.

“You think I'll see any patterns you miss because you're concentrating on the science,” Jack said.

“Exactly,” Stark said.

“I think I can handle that as long as my resident scientist doesn't mind explaining anything I don't understand,” Jack said.

“It would be my pleasure,” Stark said.

“Never thought I'd hear you say that,” Jack grinned.

“I never thought I'd say it,” Stark grinned back.

Henry hid his smile at the easy banter between his friends. “It will take a few days to get anything new, but the other briefcase I brought contains all the information we have so far. You can get started on that.”

“What am I supposed to tell Zoe?” Carter said.

Stark said, “Just reassure her that you're okay. Henry or I can explain the rest if you'd like.”

“Yeah, but none of us can tell her how long this will last or what the outcome will be. She's going to want to rush home. If I didn't know someone in this town would tell her anyway, I wouldn't tell her at all.”

Henry stood up, “It should be you who tells her, Jack. Don't wait too long.” Henry patted Jack on the shoulder and headed for the door. “I'll talk to you guys tomorrow.”

Carter called Zoe. He gave her a general idea of what had happened and tried to reassure her that he was fine. He let Stark fill her in on the science. Zoe gave Stark hell for not monitoring Tulloch's safety protocol more closely.

She finally relented about leaving school and returning to Eureka when it was clear that she couldn't visit her father in person and would still have to settle for daily video chats with him.

Carter was quiet after that. Stark brought drinks and sat across from Jack at the table. “I wasn't sure beer would cut it right now,” the scientist said as he sat a Scotch in front of Carter.

“Thanks,” Carter said and downed the drink.

Stark refilled his glass. “It's better when you actually taste it.”

Carter gave Stark a sad smile, “I can't stop hearing her crying.”

“She's strong, Jack, just like her father.”

“She's just a kid, a kid who just learned she may lose her father.”

“She is not going to lose you if Henry and I have anything to say about it. She knows we won't give up.”

“Not giving up doesn't really matter if there's nothing that can be done. She knows that, too.”

“Jack,” Stark began.

“I'm going to bed,” Jack said as he stood. “Get some sleep, scientist.” Jack downed his second Scotch and went upstairs.

 

Carter and Stark settled into a routine quickly. For Carter it was exercise; shower; breakfast; talk with Jo, Henry, and Fargo; read or watch TV; lunch; look over what Henry and Stark gave him; dinner; chat with Zoe; TV; and bed.

For Stark it was breakfast; work; consult with Henry, Fargo, and Thorne; lunch; work; exercise, shower; TV or reading; and bed.

They always ate lunch and dinner together. Carter gave Stark peace and quiet to work. Stark gave Carter privacy to spend as much time as possible with Zoe. They discussed their situation only in the evenings and always early enough to get their minds off of it before bed.

SARAH constantly monitored their vital signs. She ran a full DNA analysis three times a day: while the men were sleeping, while they exercised, and while they rested in the evening. It was three weeks into their quarantine, during her 3:00 AM scan, that SARAH discovered the first signs of mutation.

The AI immediately contacted Henry and informed him of the results. Carter and Stark woke to find a med team in full hazmat gear waiting to run a full battery of tests on them.

It was an exhausting day, and when the med team finally left, Carter and Stark fell onto the couch with drinks in hand.

SARAH said, “Sheriff, Dr. Stark, would you like me to prepare a quick meal for you?”

“Thank you, SARAH. That would be nice,” Stark said.

“Nothing for me, SARAH, thanks,” Carter said.

“Ignore that, SARAH, the sheriff will be eating, too,” Stark said. At Jack's look, he added, “You have to eat, Jack. We both need to keep our strength up.”

Jack nodded and got up. “I'm going to shower first. I'll be down shortly.”

 

Henry joined the men the next morning for breakfast. “It is so good to actually be in the same room as my friends again. I'm sorry it's been so long, but I've been spending every possible moment trying to figure out what Tulloch was doing.”

“He was trying to give humans animal traits,” Carter said.

“That's what we thought at first,” Henry said, “but it seems to be more than that.”

“Henry, the man turned into a hyena right in front of us,” Carter said.

“Exactly. That's going beyond giving humans animal traits,” Henry said.

“That may have been an accident he was trying to correct,” Stark said.

Jack picked up a file Jo had sent him. “Tulloch's nephew suffers from a degenerative bone disease.”

“Osteoarthritis?” Henry asked.

“Yeah,” Carter said. “Could Tulloch have been trying to find a cure by using animal DNA?”

“That's possible,” Henry said, “hyenas do have strong bodies.”

“But rather than strengthen his body, he turned himself into a shape shifter?” Stark asked. “And he was worried I would shut him down when Carter and I showed up at the lab? That's a bit farfetched even for Eureka.”

“We may never know what he was actually attempting or why, but at least now we have an idea of what he actually did,” Henry said.

“Which brings us to yesterday's home invasion,” Nathan said. “What did you find, Henry?”

“Your DNA is mutating. We don't know what animal or animals are affecting you, and it will take some time to figure that out. We have to compare each nucleotide of your DNA to each nucleotide of each specimen of animal DNA Tulloch had in his lab.”

“That could take weeks,” Jack said. “Who knows how much our DNA will have changed by then. I'm no scientist, but even I know there's a point of no return in there somewhere.”

“There is good news,” Henry said.

“What is that?” Stark asked.

Henry chuckled, “You two have been stuck down here for a month and a half, and neither of you has killed the other yet.”

“Yet,” Carter and Stark said simultaneously.

Henry laughed. “Just hang in there, guys. We'll figure this out.” Henry left to get back to work.

Neither Carter nor Stark made a move to get up from the table. Carter finally broke the silence, “What do you honestly think, scientist? And don't sugar coat it.”

“I think that if Henry can't isolate the DNA quickly then we're in trouble, Jack.”

Carter nodded and stood up. He walked across the room, picked up his prized bat, and began beating on everything in sight. “She doesn't deserve this! She's just a kid!” Jack yelled over and over.

SARAH put force fields over and around essential screens and equipment; she didn't say a word.

Stark stayed silent and moved out of the way whenever Carter got near him. When Carter exhausted himself, Stark went to him and wrapped his arm's around the sheriff. “I'm here, Jack, I've got you. Just let it out. I've got you.”

Carter wrapped his arms around Stark's back and put his head on the scientist's shoulder. “She doesn't deserve this.” Jack collapsed, and Nathan eased them both to the floor.

“No, no, she doesn't. I'm so sorry, Jack. I should have listened to you a long time ago about safety protocol.”

Carter began to calm down and pulled back. He looked around the bunker at the mess and shook his head. “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have lost it like that.”

“You have every right to pitch a fit, Jack. You don't deserve this any more than Zoe does. I am so sorry.”

“It's not your fault, Nathan. I know I give you hell about not watching all those brainiacs more, but I know you can't watch every little thing going on.”

“I should have been watching Tulloch closer,” Stark said.

“Tulloch shouldn't have been breaking the rules.”

“We'll fix this, Jack. I won't give up. Henry won't give up.”

“I know,” Jack said as he got up from the floor.

“SARAH, would you pour Jack a glass of water, please,” Stark said as he got up, too.

“Pouring now. Do you feel better, sheriff?” SARAH asked.

“Thank you, SARAH, I do,” Jack said as he got the water. “And I guess it's time you start calling me Jack since I'm not the sheriff anymore.”

“I'm sorry, Jack,” SARAH said, “I wish I could do more to help.”

“You're a big help, SARAH. I'm not sure if either one of us would even eat without you cooking and reminding us,” Carter said.

“Your scans and data collection are a huge help, SARAH,” Stark said.

“I just want you both to be okay,” the AI said. “Is there anything in particular either of you would like for lunch? I will be happy to cook or arrange for something from Café Diem. You haven't eaten from there in a while.”

“I think a couple of Vincent's bacon cheeseburger plates would be good, SARAH, thanks,” Stark said.

“Ordering now,” SARAH said.

Carter looked at Stark in surprise. “You, Mr. Health, are going to clog your arteries with a bacon cheeseburger?”

Stark shrugged, “The last one you had actually looked pretty good. I figure I can do some extra push ups tonight to work it off.”

Carter shook his head and chuckled as he got the broom from the closet. Stark grabbed the dustpan and the trashcan.

“Nathan, I've got this. It's my mess; I'll clean it up.”

“What are you going to do? Put me in time out? Come on, it'll go faster if we work together.”

SARAH said, “I don't mind cleaning up while you both get ready for lunch. Your food will be delivered soon, by the way.”

“Jack, if you get the table and kitchen, and SARAH, if you get the floors, I'll get the tables in the living room. We'll be done in no time,” Stark said.

Carter picked up his bat and looked at it. He had put a few scratches on it years earlier to keep BRAD from hurting Zoe. It was three times as scratched up now.

Stark eased the bat from Carter's hands. Carter looked up in surprise. He looked around and realized he'd been staring at the bat so long that SARAH and Stark had finished cleaning his mess.

“I'm sorry. I didn't mean to leave that mess on you.”

“Don't apologize, Jack. Go get washed up. Our food will be here any minute. I want you to lie down and rest after we eat, and I will give you a sleeping pill if I have to.”

Stark was already worried about Carter. He worried even more when the man just nodded and did as Stark instructed.

They were at the table eating, and Stark was getting desperate to get some kind of reaction from Carter. “This burger is really good,” Stark said. “Of course, I should have known that with Vincent making it, but still.”

“My taste isn't quite as Neanderthal as you thought, huh?”

Stark smiled, “I never thought you had Neanderthal taste. You were attracted to Allison, after all. I just pegged you as a man of simple taste.”

“Then you pegged me right,” Carter smiled. “A burger, a beer, and a ballgame and I'm generally a happy guy.”

“I think you may have the key to happiness, Jack.”

“A burger and a ballgame?”

Stark said seriously, “Living in the moment; being satisfied with what you have rather than focusing on getting more.”

“You're right. That's what I need to do right now, focus on what I've got. I'm at home instead of some sterile GD cell. I've got you, Henry, and half a dozen other people working tirelessly on the problem. I've got SARAH playing nursemaid and mother hen.

“Most importantly, Zoe's safe and healthy and I have the company of a new friend.”

Stark smiled, “Bet that left a bad taste in your mouth.”

Carter deadpanned, “It did until I took a swallow of my beer.”

Neither man could keep a straight face long before bursting into laughter.

“Thank you, Nathan. I needed that.”

Stark smiled, “I still want you to lie down and get some rest.”

“Doctor's order, huh?”

“Doctor's orders,” Stark confirmed.

Carter nodded, finished off his beer, and headed upstairs.

As soon as Stark heard Carter's door close, he said, “SARAH, privacy mode Stark 1, please.”

“Stark 1 engaged, Dr. Stark,” SARAH said.

“Call me Nathan, SARAH. You, Jack, and I may be together for a while yet. Formalities seem a bit ridiculous.”

“As you wish, Nathan. Am I correct that you wish to speak to Henry now?”

“You are. Thank you, SARAH.”

“Connecting now.”

Henry appeared on the wall screen as Nathan was pulling up his work on his laptop. “How are you two doing, Nathan?”

“Jack's having a pretty tough time right now.”

“Is he in pain?”

“Emotional pain. What this mess means for Zoe is tearing him up inside,” Stark explained.

“I can arrange for antidepressants for him if you think it will help. For you, too, if you need it,” Henry offered.

“Let's hold off on that,” Stark said. “Please tell me you have something.”

“We may have gotten lucky. We started comparison with DNA samples that were found closest to you in the rubble. Of the five closest to you, the changes in your DNA most resemble lion and wolf.”

“Damn it. Henry, Jack went into a rage earlier. He took his prized bat to everything in sight. Only SARAH's quick thinking to initiate force fields saved the important items.”

“Did he come after you?” Henry asked as he sat up straighter.

“No, but I didn't exactly get in his way, either.”

“So you're thinking lion.”

“No, I'm thinking wolf. He was damn near submissive after he calmed down.”

“What about you, Nathan?”

“There's something you should know. I've been interested in Jack for a long time.”

“That's not really a surprise to me, my friend.”

“I should have known you would see it. The thing is, I don't know if it's the feelings I already had or changes from the animal DNA, but I'm more protective of him now than ever.”

“Alpha, beta wolf dynamics?” Henry asked.

“I just don't know.”

“When he lost it earlier, what were your exact thoughts and feelings?”

Stark said softly, “I wanted to hold him and take his pain away. I wanted to make this all end for him and Zoe.”

“You felt no anger? No urge to respond or retaliate?”

“I was angry at myself for letting Tulloch get so out of hand, but not at Jack.”

“That definitely sounds like wolf dynamics. I'll get into it and get back to you as soon as possible.”

After Henry disconnected, Stark said, “End Stark 1.”

“Privacy mode disengaged,” SARAH said.

Stark gathered his work and stored it because he knew he wouldn't be able to concentrate. He got clean clothes and went to shower.

He stood under the water and tried to control his thoughts. He knew he needed to concentrate on the science if he had any hope of seeing something they'd missed. All he could think about was Jack: holding Jack in his arms, feeling Jack's arms around him, and Jack calling him his friend.

Stark gave up on thinking when he realized he was stroking his cock to images of Jack. He began using firmer and faster strokes as he envisioned Jack naked, leaning against the shower wall, and spread wide for him.

He nearly screamed in agony when his orgasm hit and the base of his cock swelled to the size of a baseball.

“SARAH,” Stark gasped.

“Running scans and contacting Henry now, Nathan.”

 

Jack woke to voices downstairs. He rushed down to see what was going on.

Henry stopped him at the foot of the stairs, “Hold on, Jack, let me explain.”

“What's wrong with Nathan? What the hell is that? How long has it been there?” Carter asked, nearly bouncing with the desire to get to Stark.

“That's a medical bay we just complete two days ago. Nathan is going to be fine, Jack. Fargo, Taggart, and Dr. Young are just checking him over and taking some samples.”

“Anne Young? The sex doctor?” Carter asked.

“Yes.”

“What samples is she taking? Sperm samples?”

“Yes.”

“Henry!”

“I think we should wait until you, Nathan, and I can talk together. And I'd like to do a few tests on you, too.”

“Nathan's okay?”

“Yes, Jack, Nathan is fine.”

“Okay.”

Henry walked Carter to another of the four beds in the newly built medical bay. Henry drew blood. SARAH ran a scan. Then Dr. Young came with her little cup.

“We'll give you some privacy,” Young said and moved a screen around Carter.

Carter banged his head back into his pillow. He didn't have a problem with masturbation. His problem was people on the other side of that damn lack-of-privacy screen knowing what he was doing.

He propped up in bed and pulled his pants down. He thought about Allison and started stroking himself. For some reason, his body was not on board with the plan. He thought about Callie, then Abby, then he resorted to old fantasies of Angela Fairfield. His body still wasn't responding, and he was beginning to get sore.

He tried a different tact and thought about Christopher Dactylos. He felt a twitch, but that was all. Carter was close to being as enraged as he was that morning. He didn't want that.

Carter despised being so out of control that he needed someone to comfort him the way Nathan had. Surprisingly, thoughts of Nathan comforting him, holding him, had Jack's body responding quickly.

He began stroking his cock as he remembered how it felt when Nathan held him. He was hard enough to hammer nails and dripping precome, but he still couldn't orgasm.

Carter kept trying and trying. He shifted position and felt a tingle in his ass and a wet spot on the bed. He reached down and touched himself to discover that his ass was slick and twitching.

“Henry!”

Henry rushed in, and, after Carter explained what was wrong, said, “Jack, we need Taggart or Anne to get a sample.”

“Anne,” Carter said as he laid his head back and closed his eyes he stayed that way until the ordeal was over.

Once all the samples were taken and scans were run, Taggart and Young left. Henry, Stark, and Carter sat at the table. Carter, never having gotten release, tried not to squirm.

“It seems pretty clear that we're dealing with wolf DNA,” Henry said. “Jack, Nathan has developed a knot like an alpha wolf. You are now self-lubricating like a beta wolf, an alpha's mate.”

“Why are we being affected differently?” Stark asked.

“It's only conjecture at this point, but we're thinking that it has something to do with your human DNA.”

“I don't see how that's possible. Jack and I could both be described as alpha males. I couldn't run GD if I weren't, and Jack couldn't have been a US Marshall if he weren't.”

“This is true, but, no offense, Nathan, Jack has a softer, more compassionate side than you do. Besides, beta wolves are as strong and capable as alpha wolves and just as protective of their pack,” Henry said.

“So I'm turning into the one who takes it up the ass because I care about people?” Jack asked.

“That's a crude way to put it, but, essentially, yes,” Stark said.

“So the question now is: Do you two want to be separated?” Henry asked.

“What happens if we stay here together?” Jack asked.

“I see four possibilities,” Henry said. “One, nothing more happens than what already has. Two, you find yourselves attracted to each other but are capable of handling it. Three, you find yourselves attracted to each other, act on it once or more, and that's all that comes of it. Last, you could find yourselves attracted to each other, act on it, and become lifelong mates.”

Carter wanted to get up and pace, but he was still wound up from earlier. He settled for putting his head down on the table.

“Jack knows how I feel about him, Henry. I told him when we were trapped in the rubble.”

“Then I think that makes this your decision, Jack,” Henry said.

Without lifting his head, Carter said, “When I was trying to get Dr. Young a sample earlier, my body didn't respond at all until I thought of Nathan. I still couldn't get her the sample. That's when I discovered that, well, you know what I discovered. Truth is that I'm still sitting here unable to give a sample.”

Carter sat up in time to see Henry rub both hands down his face.

“This is your call, Jack,” Stark said. “I'll move to a quarantine cell at GD if it will make you more comfortable with this.”

“As good as SARAH is, I think I'd go insane here alone,” Carter said. “I'd rather you stay.”

“Jack, if I stay, I can't let anything happen between us. It wouldn't be real. It would be because of Tulloch's experiment. It would be me taking advantage of you. I won't do that to you. I can't do that to either one of us.”

“Nathan, whatever I'm feeling, whatever we're feeling, is who and what we are now. There's no guarantee we will ever be who we were again. That makes this real.”

“We can't give up on that yet. Henry is still working on it. So is Taggart. So are others. We can't give up because some changes are taking place,” Stark said.

“SARAH, protocol Deacon 1,” Henry said.

“Deacon 1 initiated,” Sarah responded.

“What's that, Henry?” Carter asked.

“From now until instructed otherwise, SARAH will add small doses of a libido suppressant to all your food and drink.”

“When did you add that to SARAH's programming?” Stark asked.

“I called Fargo on the way here after SARAH informed me of your situation.”

“Will the suppressant really help?” Carter asked.

“I believe so, yes,” Henry said. “This way neither of you has to go through this alone. The only thing is that we don't know if continuing to spend so much time together in such close quarters will have, for lack of a better phrase, an addictive effect.”

“This just gets better and better,” Carter said.

“It's still your choice whether I stay or go, Jack. The suppressants will work either way,” Stark said.

“As long as it's my choice, you're not going anywhere.”

Stark nodded. “Henry, have we hit the point of no return yet?”

“There's no way to know. I'm sorry.”

“This is going to be an interesting conversation to have with my daughter.”

“Would you like me to explain it, Jack?”

“No, Nathan, thank you, but this is something I need to do.”

Henry stood. “I'll go so you can do that. Don't forget to eat dinner. Make sure to drink at least two more drinks tonight. I'll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Bye, Henry,” Carter and Stark said in unison.

Nathan stood up, “I'll give you some privacy.”

“Nathan,” Carter said as he stood, too, “I need to talk to you first.” Carter took Stark's arm and walked him to the couch.

“You told me almost two months ago that you're interested in me. You haven't said a word about it since.”

“I felt you had a right to know. I never intended to make you uncomfortable,” Stark said.

“You haven't said or done anything to make me uncomfortable, Nathan. I need you to know that.”

“Good. I'm glad of that, but I don't think that's what's on your mind.”

“When I was about ten years old, there was a gay, teenage couple in our neighborhood. They were freshmen in high school. One was on the basketball team; the other was on the track team. They were both good kids from good families. Got good grades, and did charity work on the weekends.

“A month after they came out as a couple, a group of drunken seniors dragged them to an industrial park on the other side of the city, beat them down, and left them for dead. It was three weeks before their bodies were found.”

Stark got up and went to the kitchen. He came back with two glasses of beer and handed one to Carter.

Carter drank some of his before continuing, “I was fourteen or fifteen when I realized I was looking as much at the males in swimsuit ads as I was the females. I spent more time watching the captain of the football team in the school hallways than the captain of the cheer leading squad. I didn't even know what bisexual was much less that I was bisexual.

“I never forgot about that teen couple or what happened to them. I only dated girls, and I kept any attraction I had for any guy to myself. I kept it buried so deep that no one would ever guess at it.

“The day we first met, I was so attracted to you that I couldn't think straight. I couldn't even remember the words molecular bio-scanner. For the first time, I was tempted, hell more than tempted, to act on my attraction to another man. Then I found out you were married to Allison.

“You said you started finding reasons to fight with me. I was grateful. It kept me from doing something to truly embarrass myself. And that teen couple who died years earlier were still on my mind. Their deaths still haunt me, almost as much as Angela's.”

Stark instinctively stayed quiet while Carter drank more of his beer.

“The thought of giving in to my attraction to you does make me uncomfortable, but it's not because of you.

“I had planned to tell you all this once this mess was over with, but you need to know now. Anything that might happen between us, Nathan, is not because of any wolf DNA. Anything that happens between us is real.”

“You're still under the influence of foreign DNA, Jack. That may be the reason you're willing to act on your attraction to me.”

Carter shook his head, “No, it's not. As soon as you told me that you're interested in me, I decided that I was going to tell you this as soon as this was over. I knew you wouldn't believe me until this mess is cleared up.”

“I wish I could believe you now.”

Carter moved closer to Stark. “On the way home after we found our kids, all I wanted to do was pull over and hold you until that pain left your eyes. The only reason I didn't try was that Zoe was there.”

“Jack, are you being honest with me?”

“I thought you were going to die in that photon deceleration chamber. I was sick to my stomach with grief. The ache in my heart was worse than any physical pain I felt. That's why I never asked Allison out after you two split up. I never felt that over her, no matter how close she came to dying.”

“I couldn't marry her because of the way I feel about you. You couldn't date her because of the way you feel about me. And neither of us has dated anyone since. I think I'm beginning to believe you, Jack. I still think we should give Henry more time. I'd prefer it if we start something as us instead of a science experiment gone wrong.

“And you should call Zoe,” Stark said as he stood. “Give her my love.”

Carter reached out and grabbed Stark's hand. He squeezed the scientist's hand gently and let go as Stark headed upstairs after returning Carter's squeeze.

 

“I'm sorry, we must have a bad connection. I thought you just said you're in love with Nathan Stark,” Zoe laughed.

“All right, go ahead and get it out of your system,” Jack said.

“Wait, you're serious? No. No way. It's just that crazy science experiment that blew up. Henry will fix this, and you'll come to your senses.”

“I'm shocked at you, Zoe. Your mother and I raised you not to judge people for who they love.”

“You think I care that he's a man? No! I care that he's Nathan Stark. Dad, the man has been nothing but a thorn in your side since you met.”

“Yeah, seems we both picked fights to deny how we feel about each other.”

“Wait, you're saying he's in love with you, too?”

“Neither of us has said it to the other in those words, but we definitely have feelings for each other.”

“It's just the foreign DNA,” Zoe said.

Carter shook his head, “No, sweetheart, it goes much further back than that.”

“Oh, really,” Zoe huffed, “how far back does it go?”

“To the day we met. He had read my file so he already knew I was married to a woman. I found out that day that he was married to Allison. Neither one of us thought we had a chance with the other so we fought as a way to deny it.”

“You've never been interested in a man before.”

“Yes, Zoe, I have. I just never was interested enough in a man to take a chance after something that happened in our neighborhood when I was a kid.

“But times are different now. Eureka's different. I'm different. And I've never met anyone like Nathan before.”

Carter rubbed the back of his neck. “I know this seems like it's out of left field, sweetheart, but it's really not.”

Zoe sat back in her chair hard, folded her arms across her chest, and looked away. She looked back and said, “This is going to take some getting used to, but all I care about is that you're happy. But if he hurts you, I swear, no one will ever find his body.”

Carter chuckled, “Thank you, sweetheart. Now go finish your psychology paper. And, Zoe, I'm proud of you.”

Zoe beamed. “Thanks, dad. I'll talk to you tomorrow.”

Carter disconnected the video call and walked to the refrigerator where SARAH was already pouring a beer for him.

“Thanks, SARAH.”

“It's my pleasure, Jack. Is there anything in particular you would like for dinner?”

“Whatever you fix will be fine. I don't feel much like eating, anyway.”

“You have to eat, Jack,” Nathan said from the doorway. “Henry's orders, remember?”

“Yeah,” Jack said as he walked close to Stark, “it's just been a very long day.”

“I know,” Stark said as he took Carter's hand in his. “I'd give anything to make this easier for you, Jack.”

“What would you like for dinner, Nathan?” SARAH asked.

“Could you make one of Jack's favorites, please, SARAH? Maybe that will help his appetite a bit,” Stark said.

“How does grilled lemon chicken over wild rice, steamed broccoli and cauliflower, a garden salad with a red wine vinaigrette, and sweet, iced tea sound?” SARAH asked.

“Oh, wow,” Jack said, “SARAH, I love you.”

“That's one of your favorite meals? Vincent would be impressed,” Stark said. “Why don't you order meals like that at Café Diem?”

“I love Vincent's burgers. They're the best on the planet. And if people in this town even suspected the sheriff isn't as simple as they think then my job would be ten times as difficult.”

“Especially with the arrogant director of GD?” Stark teased.

“If you saw me as more than the village idiot, the rest of the town would, too.”

Stark lowered his head and said, “I'm sorry, Jack. I never meant to treat you so badly. I only intended to keep you at arm's length.”

“I know. It's okay. We made it work.” Carter lead Stark to the table where the men sat down.

“Nathan, we've been talking about and hoping for you and Henry to figure out the science and get everything back to normal. That may never happen with the science and our biology, but you and I? We've already hit the point of no return.

“The snarking and sniping, the apathetic act where the other's safety is concerned, even pretending to hate each other; it won't work anymore. There's no going back to that. I'm not sure I want to,” Carter said.

“I'm sure I don't want to. At the very least, we've become the friends Henry always insisted we could be. I have no intention of giving that up, no matter what else happens.”

Carter smiled, “Good.”

The two men enjoyed a calm dinner and a good game on TV. It was exactly what they both needed after such an eventful day. They walked up the stairs together and stopped in front of Carter's room; Nathan's room was on down the hall.

“Nathan, thank you for everything you did for me today. I really would have cracked up if not for you.”

“You don't have to thank me for anything, Jack. I will do anything and everything I can for you.”

Carter leaned up and pressed his lips to Stark's. The scientist returned the kiss. The libido suppressant kept the fire from truly igniting, but there was no denying that it was there, just under the surface, waiting.

Stark eased back and smiled, “Goodnight, Jack.”

Carter watched the scientist go into his room before entering his own.

 

Carter and Stark were having breakfast of bagels and coffee when Henry called. SARAH put the video feed on the wall screen.

“Do you want the good news first or the bad news?” Henry asked after the three had exchanged pleasantries.

“Just throw it at us, Henry,” Carter said.

“Dr. Julia Golden has been making remarkable strides in her work with DNA. She has discovered a way to reboot a person's DNA to a younger age without de-aging the person.”

“What would be the purpose in that?” Carter asked.

“If someone with a degenerative disease like MS had his DNA rebooted to a younger stage, the symptoms of the disease would vanish,” Henry explained.

Stark sat forward, “You think you can reboot our DNA and remove the wolf DNA with Dr. Golden's discovery.”

“It shows promise, but there are two issues. It hasn't been tested on humans yet, and we don't have a large enough sample of your original DNA to attempt the procedure.”

“So we're back to square one,” Carter said.

“Not necessarily,” Henry said. “Fargo reminded me of one of his grandfather's unproven hypotheses. Fargo, Julia, and I are attempting to replicate your DNA samples the way Pierre was about to attempt cell replication before he was put in cryostasis.”

“Do you have a timetable, Henry?” Stark asked.

“We're not going to chance wasting your DNA so we're going to attempt to replicate my DNA today. That will take a couple of days. If we're successful, we can have you out of there and back to normal in less than two weeks.”

“Is there anything we can do, Henry?” Carter asked.

“Just stay calm and be patient, Jack. We'll know soon.”

Carter and Stark finished their coffee in silence. Carter got up and refilled their cups.

“Does the thought of going back to life outside the bunker weird you out as much as it does me right now?” Carter asked.

“Yes, oddly enough, it does. I never thought I'd get to spend two months like this with you. I hate losing that.”

“So don't lose it. I've gotten as used to this as you have. Nothing says you have to leave if this works. I'd really like for you to stay, Nathan.”

“You may feel differently when this is over.”

“I could have objected to being quarantined with you in the first place. I didn't. You being here is the one thing that's made all of this bearable.”

“You really think it would work? Knowing how I feel about you and that you may have no feelings at all for me?”

“I'm not talking marriage, Nathan. We've already proven we make good roommates under less than desirable circumstances. Normal circumstances should be a piece of cake. Just think about it, okay?”

Stark smiled, “I'll think about it. I also won't be upset if you change your mind later.

“You know the first thing to happen once this is truly over is that we'll both have to see psychiatrists, right?”

“I'm surprised they haven't sent someone to shrink our heads already,” Carter said.

“They haven't replaced Beverly yet. No outsider would be allowed into the quarantine, and no good psychotherapist would dare tackle an issue like this over a video link.”

“The DOD and their secrets. Nathan, if this DNA reboot works on us, how long until it's available to the general public?”

“Probably not for years, if ever. There will have to be hundreds of successful trials, and it will have to prove cost effective.”

“So, even if it works, it could be shoved in a corner like the common cold cure,” Carter said disapprovingly.

“Unfortunately, yes. Henry was right. If this were a weapon, the DOD would rush it into use in less than a year. I'm getting a bit tired of the system, myself.”

“Do you have plans this morning?” Carter asked.

“I thought I'd run by the dry cleaner on the way to GD, maybe grab a Vinspresso while I'm in town.”

“Smart ass. I was thinking that if you're not swamped with work, you might join me for a workout.”

“Well, I guess the dry cleaning can wait.” the scientist teased.

Carter and Stark spent the next two hours teasing, taunting, and pushing each other to work harder and do more until they were both about to collapse. They took their time stretching and cooling down before hitting the showers. Carter couldn't remember the last time he'd enjoyed a workout so much.

Both men were bored with reading and watching TV so Carter challenged Stark to a game of poker. Carter was up by $300 when Jo called.

“Carter, I'm sorry to bother you, but we've got a situation I could really use your help on,” Jo said.

“What's going on, Jo?”

“Beverly Barlowe walked right into the sheriff's office this morning. She says she'll only talk to you, Dr. Stark, or Henry. I'm not about to pull Henry away from looking for a cure for you guys just for her.”

Carter frowned and put the phone on speaker. “Go ahead and put her on the phone.”

Stark looked at Carter curiously.

“She's demanding to talk face to face.”

“Damn,” Carter said, “Jo, I don't care how you do it, but get Thorne to approve bringing her here. I won't even be upset if you can't find a hazmat suit to fit her.”

“Got it,” Lupo said. “I'll call you back as soon as I talk to Thorne.

“What's going on, Jack?” Stark asked after Carter disconnected the call.

“Beverly Barlowe strolled into the sheriff's office demanding a face to face with one of us or Henry.”

“Well, this should be interesting.”

“Yeah, if Thorne agrees to let us see her.”

Stark was about to make a video call to Thorne when Carter's cell rang again.

“Carter,” the sheriff answered.

“It's Lupo. I'll have Barlowe there in fifteen minutes.”

“We'll be waiting. Thanks, Jo.” Carter disconnected the call and looked at Stark. “Fifteen minutes.”

“I can't wait to see what this is about.”

“I won't be heartbroken if she gives Jo a reason to shoot her,” Carter said.

“That, I would love to see,” Stark said.

The men were only mildly surprised to see that Thorne arrived with Lupo and Barlowe. All three women wore protective gear, Barlowe having the additional accessory of handcuffs.

“All right, Beverly, what do you want?” Carter asked.

“What happened to you two wasn't an accident,” Beverly said. “The consortium wanted the two of you out of the way so they could plant surveillance in GD and around the town in the confusion.”

Thorne said, “Well, that was a waste of their time. We found and removed several foreign lines of code from the GD system already.”

“We also found and removed over a dozen audio and video devices around town,” Jo added.

“That's just the tip of the iceberg,” Beverly said. “Every business in town, every off-site lab, every home of a project leader, every section 5 lab, and every office in Global Dynamics is now bugged.”

Thorne walked across the room and pulled her phone out to begin texting.

“Are you telling us that the consortium killed Tulloch to try to kill us?” Stark asked.

“Tulloch was supposed to accidentally knock over a few chemicals and run. No one was aware that he could shift into an animal, and no one expected him to attack you,” Beverly said.

Thorne, having completed her texts, walked back over to the group and asked, “So why are you coming to us with this? And why now?”

“Because one of my associates came up with the bright idea of exposing the entire town to these chemicals. Eureka would have to be quarantined indefinitely. Consortium members of high rank in the DOD would step in and take control of the town, GD, and every scientific advancement ever made here.”

“Isn't that what you wanted from the start?” Jo asked.

“Not at the expense of innocent lives. If this happens to the entire town, people will panic. They will riot, and lives will be lost.”

“I suppose you think you have a way to prevent this,” Stark said in his director of GD voice.

“Yes, but you're not going to like it. You have to shut Henry down. Destroy his lab and everything in it before the consortium gets their hands on it.”

“You want us to allow whatever is happening to Dr. Stark and Sheriff Carter continue unchecked and untreated?” Thorne asked.

“Yes, to save the people of Eureka, yes,” Barlowe replied.

The door to the medical bay opened. Henry, Fargo, and a young woman Carter knew from the photo in her file to be Dr. Julia Golden stepped into the living room. None of them wore protective gear.

“Henry, what are you doing?” Thorne asked.

“We have determined that there is no contagion,” Henry smiled. “Jack and Nathan were only affected because of prolonged direct exposure while they were trapped in the rubble.”

“So the consortium's plan to infect the town won't work?” Beverly asked.

“No, it won't. Sorry to disappoint you,” Henry said stonily.

“Disappointed is the last thing I am, Henry. I came here to try to prevent any more deaths.”

“I'm glad to know Kim's death was enough for you,” Henry said.

“I never meant for that to happen. I only meant to skew the readings of the test. I am so sorry Kim was killed.”

Thorne and Lupo had removed their suits. Lupo removed Beverly's head gear as she said, “Good thing your regret will bring her back, huh?”

Carter interrupted, “Not that I'm not happy to see you, Henry, but why are you here? I thought you were working on something today.”

Fargo spoke then, “The replication went better than we could possibly have hoped for. We're ready to try the reboot.”

“Already? Henry said it would be at least a week,” Stark said.

Julia Golden finally spoke, “We didn't expect the air conditioning to go out. Turns out heat accelerates the replication.”

“So when can we do the reboot?” Carter said.

“We're set up and ready to start now,” Fargo said.

“Should Beverly be here for this?” Lupo asked.

“I think she should,” Thorne said. “She's going to jail, but I'm sure she'll be in contact with some of her consortium friends somehow. She'll be able to tell them firsthand that their plan to control Eureka won't work.”

“So who goes first?” Carter asked.

“We're set up for you, Sheriff Carter,” Julia said.

“No, I should go first,” Stark said, “this is highly experimental.”

“The alteration of Jack's DNA is more advanced, Nathan. He needs to go first,” Henry said.

“I don't like this, Henry,” Stark said.

“I know, Nathan, but there's really no choice,” Henry said.

“Sheriff carter is closer to the point of no return, Dr. Stark. We need to reboot him first,” Fargo said.

“Then let's get to it,” Carter said.

Everyone entered the medical bay. Carter stretched out on the only bed that hadn't been there before, and Julia strapped him down. Fargo stuck wires to his head, and Henry went to the control panel.

“Are we ready?” Henry asked.

“As ready as we're going to be. Let's do this,” Carter said.

Julian and Fargo backed away as Henry hit the button to start the machine.

Carter arched up at the electricity suddenly charging through his body. His muscles cramped and seized. Pain shot through every bone and joint. If felt like his blood was boiling. He thought his body was going to explode.

Just when he thought he was going to die, everything stopped. His body tingled and was one big ache. His head hurt, and he felt weak.

Henry and Stark helped him sit up as Julia and Fargo did something to the head of the bed.

“Jack, are you okay?” Stark asked.

“Yeah,” Carter said, “yeah. Better by the second, in fact.”

Henry said, “SARAH, would you scan Jack, please?”

“My scan indicates that Jack's DNA is now identical to his pre-exposure DNA,” SARAH said.

“Your turn, Nathan,” Carter said as he stood up slowly.

Stark made sure Carter was steady on his feet before lying on the bed. He had an idea what to expect after having seen Carter's reaction and hearing his screams. He still wasn't prepared for the experience and nearly passed out.

Carter was instantly at Stark's side when Henry powered down the machine. As soon as he knew the scientist was okay, Carter turned to Barlowe and said, “Tell your friends they aren't as smart as they think they are.”

“You have no idea how happy I am about that, sheriff,” Beverly said.

“Time for you to go,” Lupo said. “Our friends in the DOD will be here to take you to your new home.”

After SARAH closed the door behind Lupo and her prisoner, Thorne turned to Henry and Fargo. “How certain are we that this worked?”

“I suggest that SARAH continue to monitor Jack and Nathan for a couple of days, but I will be very surprised if there are more changes,” Henry said.

“And the quarantine?” Thorne asked.

“Is no longer necessary,” Fargo said. “I agree that Dr. Stark should stay here with Carter for a few more days, but it's perfectly safe for them to come and go as they please.”

“Thorne turned to Carter and Stark, “How do you two feel?”

“Fine,” Carter and Stark said in unison.

“Excellent,” Thorne said. “Assuming there are no setbacks, I'll see you in my office Monday morning bright and early to discuss your return to work. Gentlemen.

“Dr. Golden, Dr. Fargo, Henry, good work,” Thorne said as she left.

“Henry,” Carter said, “thank you.”

“I'm just happy we figured it out, my friend.

 

“I'll be glad to have you both back to work,” Fargo said. “I used to think Dr. Stark was trying to kill me, but you were a camp counselor compared to her.”

“That may be why we ended up in this mess in the first place,” Stark said.

“We ended up in this mess because of the consortium and their insanity,” Carter said.

“He's right, Dr. Stark. None of this is your fault,” Julia said. “I'll get the med bay cleaned up.”

“I'll help you,” Fargo said.

“Hey, Fargo, Julia,” Carter said, “thank you.”

“Our pleasure, sheriff,” Fargo said, and Julia nodded.

Henry smiled at Carter and Stark, “How would you two like to go grab a Vinspresso?”

“I say what the hell are we waiting for?” Carter said as he grabbed his coat and keys.

Henry and Stark laughed all the way out the door behind Carter.

It was another hour until the lunch rush normally began at Café Diem so the place was almost empty when the men arrived. Vincent came around the counter and had Carter in a bear hug almost before they could blink. The chef even hugged Stark before he showed the men to a table.

Ten minutes after the men got their coffee, Café Diem was packed. The entire town wanted to see firsthand that the sheriff and the scientist were okay. 

Henry smiled, “In case you can't tell, this town has missed you two.”

“You mean they missed Carter,” Stark said. “None of them would have thought twice about me if Carter hadn't been in the middle of it with me.”

“That's not true,” Carter said. “People in this town admire and respect you, Nathan.”

Stark cocked his head at Carter, “Admire and respect, maybe. Maybe even fear, but it's you they love.”

“Nathan, these people more than respect you,” Henry said.

“It's okay, Henry. As director of GD, I always saw myself as having a job to do that being close to people and having friends would interfere with. It's time for that to change.”

“You're stepping down,” Carter said.

“I am. Thorne is not going to be happy Monday morning,” Stark smiled.

“What am I missing?” Henry asked.

“I've learned a lot from this situation, Henry. My life isn't what I'd like it to be so I'm going to change it. The first step to do that is to step down as director. Hopefully Thorne will agree to keep me on as a researcher.”

“Nathan, that's huge,” Henry said. “Are you sure that's what you want?”

“I am. Tulloch was perverting safety protocol right under my nose, and I was so caught up in the every day hassle, paperwork, and bureaucratic nonsense that I didn't even catch it. There's more, no big reason, just a large number of small reasons that add up. This situation was the straw the broke the camel's back.”

Henry smiled, “I have to say that I like the idea of you getting back to basics.”

“So do I, Henry,” Stark said, “so do I.”

“Yeah,” Carter said, “I can't wait to see what he comes up with to blow up the town.”

“I would not do that. Launch it into space, maybe,” Stark said, and all three men laughed.

“I don't remember the last time I saw either of you so relaxed,” Henry said.

“Two month vacation,” Carter said.

“This wasn't exactly a vacation,” Henry said.

“Yeah, it kind of was.” Stark smiled at Carter.

“I'm beginning to think this incident was a good thing,” Henry said.

“I've been thinking that for a while now,” Carter said.

 

On Monday morning Carter and Stark joined Lupo, Fargo, and Henry in Thorne's office.

“I can't tell you how happy I am to get the two of you back to work,” Thorne said.

“I wouldn't be too thrilled just yet,” Stark said.

Thorne sat forward, fully focused on Stark, “Is there a problem? Did SARAH find something in your scans?”

“No, nothing like that. We're both fine,” Carter said.

“It's not about my health, Eva. It's about my job. I'd like to stay on here at Global as a researcher, but I have no desire to return to the position of director. These past two months have shown me that I've been entirely too wrapped up in work. It's time to change that.”

Thorne sat back with her poker face firmly in place. “This is certainly a surprise, and not a good one. I had planned to return to New York when you resumed your position. Now I have to search for a new director.”

“You already have the best man for the job right here in this room: Dr. Douglas Fargo,” Stark said.

“Me?” Fargo squeaked. He cleared his throat and, in a calmer tone, said again, “Me?”

“Why not? My guess is you're already doing most of the job while Eva handles the finances. She has that part running smoothly or she wouldn't be planning to leave. Am I right, Eva?”

“You're right,” Thorne smirked.

“But, she's been here to consult when I've had questions,” Fargo said.

“And you've had remarkably few questions, Dr. Fargo,” Thorne said. “Besides, Dr. Stark will still be here. I'm sure he will be happy to give you whatever occasional assistance you require.”

“Absolutely,” Stark said.

“So what do you say, Fargo?” Carter asked.

“I don't know if I can do this,” Fargo said.

Lupo spoke then, “Of course you can, Fargo. You've been doing it for two months.”

“I have, haven't I?” Fargo said in surprise.

“Dr. Fargo?” Thorne said.

“Yes, I accept,” Fargo smiled.

“Congratulations, Dr. Fargo. You will be the sole Director of Research of Global Dynamics as of tomorrow morning,” Thorne said.

“There's still one more issue to discuss,” Carter said. “The position of sheriff.”

“What do you mean?” Lupo asked.

“I think you should be sheriff, Jo, and I should be your deputy,” Carter said.

“No, Carter, I know I've always teased you that I would be a better sheriff, but that's not true. You should be the sheriff,” Lupo said.

“You're a good sheriff, Jo, and it's what you've wanted for years,” Stark said.

“Yeah, but not like this. I don't want the job because Carter got freaked out by this mess the consortium caused,” Jo objected.

“That's not it, Jo. This mess made me realize that I'm tired of the hassle and responsibility of being the sheriff. I still want to help protect Eureka. I just don't want it to consume my life anymore,” Carter said.

“Carter, you love being sheriff,” Lupo said.

“I love helping and protecting people. I can still do that as your deputy. You've done it as mine for years,” Carter replied.

“Are you sure about this, Carter?” Fargo asked.

“Very sure,” Carter said.

Fargo turned to Lupo and asked, “Jo, do you want the job?” 

“If Carter doesn't, then yes,” Jo said.

“I have no objection to that change in status then,” Fargo said.

“I'll call the DOD and get these changes made. That will be my last official act,” Thorne said.

“Tomorrow morning I'll be the Director of GD, Jo will be the Sheriff of Eureka,, Carter will be the Deputy Sheriff, and Dr, Stark will be the department Head of Section Eight,” Fargo said.

“Section Eight?” Stark said, “Theoretical physics?”

“I know you hated giving up the Big Bang data when you became director again. I thought you might want to get back into it,” Fargo said.

Stark smiled, “Yes, actually, I do. Thank you, Fargo.”

“You're welcome, Dr. Stark,” Fargo smiled.

Carter stood, “Well, I intend to enjoy my last day of vacation. I guess we'll see you all tomorrow.”

Everyone else stood, and Throne stepped over to Carter and Stark. “Gentlemen, it's been a real pleasure,” she said as she shook each man's hand.

“The pleasure's ours, Ms. Thorne,” Carter said.

“You know, I almost hate to leave.” Eva said. “You all helped me when I thought I couldn't trust anyone. I can never repay you for that. If you ever need me, any of you, don't hesitate to call.”

“Thank you, Eva,” Stark said.

Carter and Stark left.

 

 

Carter and Stark decided at the last minute to grab an early lunch from Café Diem and head to the lake. They found a quiet spot and shared good conversation over a good meal.

Stark was putting the last of their trash in the bag when Carter leaned in and kissed him.

“I didn't think you were interested anymore. You haven't said anything since Henry and the others fixed us,” Stark said.

“I knew you wouldn't believe it was real if I said anything sooner.” Carter slowly leaned in and kissed Stark again. Stark kissed him back.

Stark caressed Carter's cheek as he said, “I'm still having trouble believing it, but not because of what we've been through. I just can't believe I'm this lucky.”

“Honestly? I think I'm the lucky one,” Carter said.

Stark pulled Carter close. They shared their deepest, most passionate kiss yet. Carter pulled back and said, “Let's go home, Nathan.”

 

One year later, Eureka celebrated the marriage of Deputy Sheriff Jack Carter and Global Dynamics Head of Section Eight Dr. Nathan Stark.


End file.
